U.S. Sen. Susan Collins attended Belfast Rotary Club’s Aug. 7 meeting to discuss her efforts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and the importance of investing in biomedical research.

She also participated in a Q&A and met with club President Duke Marston. The meeting was attended by approximately 65 Belfast Rotary members.

“We are in a time when Washington seems to be consumed by partisan bickering," the Maine Republican said. "Those conditions exist, to be sure, but the message I want to convey to you today is that, despite the obstacles, we are making progress on many fronts.

"I have long maintained that the best way to break through the impasse that prevents progress is to focus on those things that matter to people in every congressional district and every state. Once we achieve success on issues that transcend ideology, we just might find that cooperation and compromise aren’t really all that hard.”

Collins told the Rotarians that bipartisan efforts underway in Congress to ensure that prescription medicine is affordable "are gaining momentum," and federal funding for biomedical research is another issue that has gained bipartisan support.

“Despite the divisiveness in Washington, Congress has demonstrated a willingness to come together at times," the senator said. "I continue to believe that we all desire an America that is vibrant, just and prosperous. Getting there will require working hard, respecting the courage and wisdom that lights our history, and sitting down together to work things out.”

A former member of the Bangor Rotary Club, Collins is an honorary Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow.

Founded in 1925, Belfast Rotary Club is part of Rotary International, a worldwide service organization with 1.2 million members. Rotarians volunteer their time and talent to further the Rotary motto “Service Above Self.”